Ref for tonight's Habs-Bruins game

Lot's of talk in the hockey world about tonight's Habs-Bruins game in Boston where the Broons are favored at -175 and the total is posted at 5.

Most remember the fireworks from the last time they met when Zdeno Chara 'blowed up' Max Pacioretty with a hit into the glass partition at the Bell Center, sparking tears and prayer circle protests from throngs of Hab Nation.

The league is reportedly going to keep a tight lid on tonight's rematch, as is often the case in situations where a game has the potential to get ugly.

Reports are that two veteran officials will do the game as a result, one of them being Dan O'Halloran. This is news because, unlike the NBA, the NHL doesn't release its officials assignments on game day.

O'Halloran is an 'over' official who sees an average of 6.18 goals per game in games he's officiated this season - the second highest number in the league among officials who have reffed more than one game this year. The over/under has a record of 36-29 in his games. 

Habs, Pacioretty can't play victim routine

I haven’t written a blog in a while, but the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty has pulled me out of blogger retirement.

In case you missed it, Chara drove Pacioretty into the boards where the glass partition begins near the benches at the Bell Centre near the end of the second period Wednesday night.  Pacioretty was bloodied, knocked out cold and taken off on a stretcher to hospital.

It’s not so much the hit itself that’s bothering me – though it wasn’t pretty - rather the way it’s being covered.

Chara should be suspended for life, is pretty much the gist outside of Boston. One Montreal Gazette writer, Dave Stubbs, ridiculously compared the incident to the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili at last year’s Olympics and said any “reasonable fan” should have been “repulsed… no matter their allegiance.”  

Count me among the unreasonable, I guess.

I don’t like seeing gore out there, but when you check the stories on the major mainstream outlets like TSN, ESPN and others and you’ll see no mention of what Chara’s hit was really about: January 8.

What happened that night in front of a national TV audience on Hockey Ni... [More]

NHL's 'new rule' will just create more issues

NHL general managers are meeting in Florida this week for three days to discuss, among other things, head shots in hockey and the serious injuries that follow. 

This hot button issue has sparked a ton of discussion in the NHL this year because of an apparent increase in head injuries following hits, most recently to Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins when he got demolished by Matt Cooke on Sunday.

It’s a tough topic because some of these checks are ones we previously would have deemed as clean.

Elbows in. No charging. Player doesn’t leave his feet.

But still, players are getting it too hard in the bucket and we all know by now that concussions can mess a guy up. 

Everyone seemed to agree that a clearer definition of the rules was in order heading into the GM meetings. So what did they vote to pass unanimously today? 

A rule that says the referee can assess either a minor penalty or a major penalty for hits they deem were targeted to the head.

What does that mean?

And don’t we already have this rule in place?

Officials have the power to call a major or match penalty any time they feel a player intentionally tries to injure another. Wouldn’t that qualify?

Instead of clearing things up, the NHL is heading (pun intended) into a whole new grey area that’s going to cause them a mountain of, err, headaches. 

It’s tough to distinguish what is an intentional hit to the head and what is... [More]

Expect fights, power plays and goals tonight in Toronto

Hopefully the staff at the Air Canada Center has the doors to the penalty boxes well oiled tonight because they’re going to get some use.

The Flyers visit Toronto as -135 faves (BetJamaica) and the Leafs are calling up their top goon, Jay Rosehill, from the minors for the bout, err, game.

There is some bad blood still boiling from when these two clubs met Jan. 6 when Philly’s resident psycho, Dan Carcillo, scored a goal and taunted the Leafs’ bench by skating by and giving mock high fives. (Pretty clever, I thought.) Later he gave the throat slashing gesture to Toronto assistant coach Keith Acton for which he was fined the NHL-maximum of $2,500.

There were 80 minutes in penalties handed out in that affair and the Flyers went 3-for-6 on the power play. They won 6-2 and the eight goals jumped the over/under by two.

Not surprisingly, the total is set at 6 goals again Thursday with -130 juice on the over. I’m taking the over despite the chalk because I’m expecting more penalties and Philly’s power play happens to be on fire right now. Both teams have serious goaltending issues too.

It’s also worth noting that the ‘over’ is 6-2 in games in which Carcillo has at least five minutes in penalties this season. In no small way, that’s because he has a knack for getting under the skin of the other ... [More]

Game 7 outlook and prop picks

If I hear “this is the game you always dream about when you’re playing street hockey as a kid” one more time, I’m going to get sick all over myself.

That’s the real problem with a two-day layoff in the NHL finals – we have to listen to the same clichés a million times over for a whole extra day. Hockey players are the nicest guys in sports, but they are also the worst interview.

Thankfully, it will come to an end tonight at 8 p.m. when Game 7 goes down at the Joe.

Who will win? The Wings should, but I probably won’t be betting on them for Game 7. I took them at 3-1 to win the Cup at Betjamaica.com before the playoffs began and with that on the line, I don’t have much incentive to lay the -195 Friday night.

I am thinking about hedging with the Pens at +165 but then I’d go and suck all the drama out of the thing. It’s not very often your futures wager comes down to one game when it comes to betting H-ball so I might as well ride it out.

Here are a few other wagers I am looking at for Game 7:

Under 5.5 – Unless the goalies forget their pads, this one is going under. And grab it now because the juice is going up. Both goalies were sensational in Game 6, wh... [More]

Western Conference preview and picks

For those of us who live in winter climates, there are few things sweeter than sitting in shorts on the back deck, sun beating down, ice cold brewsky in hand while listening to, or watching, the NHL playoffs.

 

Shorts are still on the horizon for me, but the postseason is here at least. Let’s get into the picks for the first round of the Western Conference.

 

All odds are from Pinnaclesports.com.

 

Duck vs. Shark (+252, -272)

 

Many are calling for the Quackers to upend the Sharks after winning 11 of their last 15 games. But let’s not forget they needed every one of those wins to squeak into the playoffs and now they face a San Jose squad that happens to be pretty good.

 

The fact is, I can’t find an area that Anaheim is better than Sa... [More]

I spot value in the Frozen Four

Ever wonder who’s tougher – football players or hockey players? If so, here’s a good story from the Frozen Four that provides key evidence in support of the hockey player.

It involves a spleen and a close call with death. You’ll love it.

 I’m bringing this gory tale to your attention because the Frozen Four goes today in Washington, D.C. where Boston University faces Vermont in one national semifinal and Cinderella story Bemidji State takes on Miami (Ohio) in the other.

This is a great event to bet because, like Polish soccer or Croatian volleyball, oddsmakers aren’t exactly keeping a hawk eye on college pucks. Plus, it’s great hockey to watch with tons of speed and intensity if you like that sort of thing.

Pinnacle opened Miami -230 against the Beav and BU is set at -240 over Vermont. Both totals were set at 5 ½ goals and I like the under in both.

Here’s who I’m taking, based on what I saw two weekends ago while watching some of the regionals: Bemidji on the puckline +1 ½ (-142) and also a small moneyline wager. I like BU to win... [More]

Total alert: Red Wings putting the clamps on

First things first: I like UNC and the under in the national championship game.

Now on to other moneymaking matters: play the under in Red Wings games for at least their next three games and possibly their last game of the season in Chicago. (You don’t know who they’ll hold out of the lineup in that last game, which is why I say that.)

The reason is simple.

After a three-game losing streak in which the Wings were outscored 11-7, the players met Friday after a grueling practice and decided it was time to get into playoff mode. Playoff mode for Detroit means taking care of your own end first and the scoring will take care of itself after with the Wings’ star-laden roster.

You can check out the story here to see what I mean.

The good news for bettors is Detroit’s goaltending has been the only thing softer than the economy there these days. Coach Mike Babcock has been yo-yoing between Ty Conklin and Chris Os-not-so-good and the guy who works the goal light has never been so excited.

But Babcock has said he’s starting Osgood in the playoffs and it’s time for his team to do a better job in front of him. If you want to see your team play g... [More]